ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT FAITH ANUOLUWAPO OLUWADAMILARE, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
University of Ibadan | Ibadan, Nigeria | Advancing SDG 3 & UNAI 3
" As a young leader who is passionately involved in improving health condition in my country and the world, I consider the Millennium Fellowship an opportunity to increase my knowledge on how to better achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Wellbeing, and to improve the work I do in that space.
In achieving the SDG 3, I co-founded Asido Campus Network, a student-led mental health promotion club and the youth arm of the Asido Foundation; dedicated to ensuring optimal mental health for every student on campus through awareness creation, advocacy, peer to peer counseling and support, drug abuse prevention outreaches and research. Within 6 months after its inception, we have reached out to no less than 1000 students through our online symposiums and campaigns.
I am also a young researcher who believes in contributing to translational research, I am an executive member of College Research and Innovation Hub, a club organized by the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. I organize members to conduct research by training and supervising research.
In addition, I actively volunteer for CHECK (Creating Healthy Communities and Kinship), an NGO which provides free and quality healthcare to underserved communities in Nigeria. CHECK provides professional medical assistance to these communities at no cost. Timed effective outreaches are usually organized with financial help from sponsors and partners.
I am excited to be a Millennium Fellow and I look forward to doing much more to change the world. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Mental Health Project
I belong to a student-led organization at the best Government-owned University in my country. As the general secretary of Asido Campus Network, University of Ibadan, I organized a mental health project titled- Quality relationships as a suicide prevention tool. The project held on the 15th of October, 2021 (which was my birthday!) and it held virtually via Google Meet App.
Prior to the date, we invited students of the University, the student leaders and members of Asido Campus Network Organization through letters, emails, broadcast messages and graphic designed fliers.
The students who attended were 40 altogether and the session was interactive. It began with an introduction of what suicide is, why it is a problem among adolescents and the burden of the problem in our society. In 2014, a student of the same University died by suicide and several others have been reported among students in other universities in Nigeria.
The session continued with the display of a short video from the Ministry of Social Affairs, titled The Importance of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Crisis Situation. The video displayed the importance of communication, respect and trust in any relationship.
A fiction story of a female student who was faced with challenges of poor academic performance and ill-health of her father was displayed. She was about to be expelled because of consistently poor results and her father’s health was deteriorating. For these reasons, she had suicidal thoughts. However, she had friends who were supportive, and full of encouragements for her. They helped her to bounce back through academic and mental support.
The students were able to identify the importance of a social support system, the importance of opening ourselves to people we trust and the need to be supportive and loyal friends to those around us. We learned that we cannot receive the love we do not give and the need to invest in good relationships which will be mutually beneficial. This is a socially effective means to prevent suicide, especially among adolescents.
About the Millennium Fellow
Faith Anuoluwapo Oluwadamilare is a bright, passionate and self-driven young leader. She is a top student at the prestigious University of Ibadan, Nigeria where she trains to become a medical doctor. She is skilled in people management, leadership, problem solving and social innovation. She is passionate about advancing the SDG 3, starting from her local community and reaching the world. She believes that her impact can influence a global transformation and she is unrelenting in her vision of ensuring quality and affordable health care for all. She has received local and global recognition for her contribution to health. In 2020, she and her team were recognized as one of the top 10 innovators promoting HIV self testing among young people in Nigeria. She is also a Young African Leader recognized by United State Agency for International Development (USAID). During her training as a YALI fellow, she successfully implemented a project to educate about 200 young people about the hazards of drug abuse. She is also a Millennium Fellow, class of 2021, and she is out to create greater impact in achieving SDG 3. She enjoys drawing and creative writing, and is a lover of good music.
